London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1895
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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15
Smallpox and vaccination.
The deaths from small pox in the administrative county of London which had been one in 1889,
three in 1890, eight in 1891, 29 in 1892, 186 in 1893, and 89 in 1894, fell to 55 in 1895.
The death rate from smallpox in successive periods has been as follows—
| Period. | Smallpox death rate per 1,000 living. | Period. | Smallpox death rate per 1,000 living. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1851-60 | 0.28 | 1892 | 0.0072 |
| 1861-70 | 0.28 | 1893 | 0.0402 |
| 1871-80 | 0.46 | 1894 | 0.0202 |
| 1881-90 | 0.14 | 1895 | 0.0122 |
| 1891 | _2 |
The death rate in each year in relation to the mean death rate of the period 1841-95 is shown
in diagram IV.
During the complete years in winch the notification of infectious diseases has been obligatory the number of cases of smallpox notified to the medical officers of health in the administrative county has been as fellows—
| Year. | Cases notified. | Case rate per 1,000 living. |
|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 60 | 0.014 |
| 1891 | 114 | 0.027 |
| 1892 | 425 | 0.100 |
| 1893 | 2,815 | 0.653 |
| 1894 | 1,193 | 0.274 |
| 1895 | 980 | 0.223 |
There was therefore in 1894 a diminished prevalence of smallpox in London as compared with
1893, and in 1895 a less prevalence than in 1894.
The annual summary of the Registrar-General for the year 1895 shows that, compared with
the large towns in England having more than 200,000 inhabitants, London had in the period 1885-94
a higher death rate from smallpox than any of these towns except Birmingham, Sheffield, West Ham,
and Bradford, and in 1895 a higher death rate than any except Liverpool, Birmingham and West
Ham.
| Towns. | 1885-94. | 1895. | Towns. | 1885-94. | 1895. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | .04 | .011 | West Ham | .38 | .04 |
| Manchester | .03 | .00 | Bristol | .04 | — |
| Liverpool | .02 | .03 | Nottingham | .01 | — |
| Birmingham | .06 | .02 | Bradford | 07 | — |
| Leeds | .01 | — | Hull | .02 | — |
| Sheffield | .23 | — | Salford | .01 | — |
If the London smallpox death rate be compared with the rates of the following foreign cities, it
will be seen that in the period 1885-94 the London rate was exceeded by the rates of Paris, Brussels,
St. Petersburg, Vienna, and Rome, and in 1895 by that of St. Petersburg only.
| Towns. | 1885-94. | 1895. | Towns. | 1885-94. | 1895. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | .04 | .011 | St. Petersburg | .13 | .09 |
| Paris | .07 | .01 | Berlin | .00 | .00 |
| Brussels | .11 | .01 | Vienna | .17 | .00 |
| Amsterdam | .00 | .01 | Rome | .33 | .01 |
| Copenhagen | .00 | — | New York | .04 | .01 |
| Stockholm | — | — |
1 See footnote (1), page 10.
* See footnote (2), page 10.